Giuseppe Verdi Giuseppe Verdi was born on October 10, 1813 in Le Ronocole, duchy of Parma, Italy. He studied with Vincenzo Lavigna, a musician at the La Scala opera house. After Oberto, his first opera, Verdi left La Scala due to the untimely death of his wife and children. After some time, Verdi was convinced to come back and compose Nabucco, an opera based on Nebuchadrezzar II. Verdi then went on to compose the classics Rigoletto, Il Trovatore, La Traviata, Othello and Falstaff. Giuseppe Verdi died in Milan, Italy on January 27, 1901.